The Foodlets Blog

A Visual Food Guide

Shradha Shahapurkar (Dark_Gal) is an engineer, an educator, a published writer and now an intern with Foodlets. She picks the following 10 as her choices for the 'The 10 Best Clicked Foodlets'

In commemoration of The World Photography Day, observed on 19th August, we bring to you the finest clicked Foodlets. Many thanks to all the photographers who strive to get us that perfect click and help our starving.

We presented Foodlets at Startup Saturday on 9th July. The venue this time was Christ College, Koramangala.

It was our time to meet other startup founders, enterprising people and the Startup Saturday team. It was heartening to see the audience appreciate what we built and all hands went up when asked whether they believed that Foodlets will succeed :)

Taste, smell, texture, color and presentation are the 5 qualities often associated with food. What about memories? Don't some dishes, the places where we ate them and the people with whom we shared them make strong memories?A mention of Chicken Cafreal reminds me of my boyhood days in Goa when my father used to take me to Florentine, Saligao specially for this dish. The bad thing - we had to wait in a queue. The good thing - the queue was just opposite to the kitchen where the air was full of the Cafreal gravy aroma. I remember telling my sister once that I could eat a bead just sniffing the air.

A trip to Panjim was never complete without a visit to Cafe Bhosle or Cafe Real - may it be with friends or family.Tamato Bhaji with bread, Bun and Mirchi was a regular order and ofcourse the Chai to finish with.

Another dish that has strong memories is the Shiv Poori on the road side stalls at Calangute beach. After taking my school lessons my cousin used to take me there as a reward. Hot smashed patato, hot chana, tamarind chutney, nylon shiv and the spices. All in crispy golgappas - I could never resist making the 2nd order.

Omlette Bhaji - this is one of the dishes I crave for in Bangalore. A freshly fried omlette with hot tava bhaji and tava toasted bread. All this while the cool Calangute beach breeze hit the face. What an experience!

Now I make it a point to take my little cousins to these stalls, it’s their time to build memories.

There is so much to write about when it comes to food in Mumbai. With my recent job switch I’m now smack in the middle of what can easily qualify as the food capital of Mumbai - Bandra!

Lunch break everyday is an opportunity to go out and explore and try different outlets and cuisines. Moving to the social sector however has meant that I need to watch my lunch budget everyday. Bandra never ceases to offer options though and there are easily a hundred places you could go to!

One of my favourite places to go to would have to be Candies at Pali Naka. Now some complain of long and winding queues of regulars at Candies, but I have to say its well worth the wait. The place boasts of a beautiful decor with lots of mosaic work on its simple white walls, and even a hall of lamps. The food is great value for money, especially for the hordes of college-goers on a tight budget. There’s lots of private spaces and multi-level seating, perfect for that first teeny-bopper date. Stepping into the little dessert section makes you feel like a child in a chocolate factory! It is terribly inviting with pretty pink tiled walls and little mosaic cupcake motifs, an attractive display of cheesecakes, tarts and so much more.My favourite at Candies is the red velvet cupcake! It wins, hands down! Now the cupcakes at Candies come in all shapes, sizes, flavours and colors! The red velvet one is delightful little work of art and is deliciously soft and abundantly topped with copious amounts of buttercream frosting and sprinkles and a signature marzipan heart. The carrot cupcake is a close second.

In some strange way, life is easier to deal with when you know there is the possibility to savour one of these during those rushed lunch breaks. I enjoy meal time! And it’s incredible how people bond over food. I’ve spent many afternoons taking a breather with colleagues and friends from all over the world, talking about everything from life to relationships and politics and music and books.

I’m signing out for now, but I’ll be back with more snippets from my food adventures. Until then, spread peace, love and cupcakes!

I am glad to announce that Karen Braganza is joining The Foodlets Blog as a guest writer. Karen is a long time friend and a serious food lover. She will be writing about her experiences with food in Mumbai.

QnA with Karen...

What's your 1st impression about Foodlets?Foodlets hits the nail on the head without any long drawn out and pretentious food reviews. For those that appreciate great food, it directs you to the best, without the fuss of having to read endless pages. Simply put, it's a place where you can connect with food lovers and share your experiences.

Describe your food habits in 1 line.I love to experiment! I'll try most foods without a fuss. We prefer having a balanced diet of meats and veggies though.

Do you cook? Which dishes you like cooking?Yes. I thoroughly enjoy working with seafood (blame it on my coastal heritage). I like keeping my food simple and bringing out the natural flavors of the ingredients I use.

What is most impressive about Mumbai's food culture?Mumbai's food culture is an amalgamation of influences from all parts of the country and the world. People embrace new flavors and cuisines and bond over food! Mumbaikars love eating out and most eateries are packed to the rafters on weekends!

If there is 1 dish you are suppose to eat every day for the rest of your life. Which dish will it be?Don't think I'll be able to do that! I have very diverse tastes. A true Gemini, I love trying different things everyday. Although, if I had to pick a comfort food it would be Fish curry and Rice.

Foodlets is about food and people, so we decided to put the two together in an exciting new way - a weekend event where people come together and sample some great food at nice places.

We had the first Foodlets Food Sampling Drive on Sunday 5th June 2011 at Koramangala, Bangalore. Besides the Foodlets team (Sagar, Rohit and Govind), we had 10 more food lovers. We visited 2 restaurants and sampled around 20 food dishes.We started out with The French Loaf located at 80 Feet Road, Koramangala 4th Block. Sagar and I started out with some awesome breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs and sunny side up eggs with sausages and toasted bread. We were soon joined by Rohit, Abhijeet and Pradeep who ordered some omelettes and coffee. Ronita was a late entrant at the brunch site and proudly announced that she would carry forward her appetite to the lunch table.

After the awesome breakfast at The French Loaf, we headed to Ping - Restaurant & Dessert Bay for some Chinese, Malaysian and Thai lunch. By then 7 more foodies had joined us - Ravi, Divya, Santoshi, Raghu and his family. It was a congregation of some delightful people and the conversations mostly centered around food - people's favorite restaurants in Bangalore, the cuisine at one's home town etc.The food was different from the fare available at other Chinese restaurants - we had Dimsum, Threaded Jumbo Prawns, Chicken Dragon Noodles, Great Wall Chicken Rice followed by Mango Pudding and Fried Ice-cream for dessert. Post lunch, we had a quick feedback session which gave us some valuable pointers for the next Food Sampling Drive.

The first Foodlets Food Sampling drive was indeed a memorable experience with great food and interesting people.We would like to know your thoughts on how we can make this more fun and fulfilling. What would you like to see in the next Food Sampling Drive? How about one in your city? Do let us know.

Here come the monsoons lashing around in frail spells down the coastal lines as I prepare to head-out and map the culinary depths of India’s own Silicon valley – Bangalore

Having meted out a brief spell covering the cuisines diffused into the beautiful topography of Goa – an experience I privilege and wish to re-start in a more free flowing manner upon the dawn of the new tourist season – I hope to use this experience in a much more definite strategy as we descend upon the IT capital.

Born of the land of Goa & having lived here a major part of my life my taste-buds mostly dwelled in the delicacies of the traditional Goan cuisine, quite oblivious to the spectrum of cuisines Goa had to offer. However the Foodlet coverage stint in Goa, has not only left my appetite enlightened but has also given us a deeper insight into the passion and dedication of these amazing people that cook these delicious potions, and their expectations from the multitude they serve. An additive that has strengthened our drive to be the best food centric site online.

ThruFoodlets we strive to capture and present to you visually, the essence of the entire operation and effort undertaken by these cookery wizards in a manner that will not only tease your tongue but will also culminate in a more interactive and fulfilling experience; an experience that may be shared, discussed and relished thru a virtual world.

In conclusion I sincerely appeal to each one of you to help us in building a foodlet friendly world.